Independent use of activity materials by the elderly in a residential setting.

Staff in a residential home wanted elderly residents to pick up craft and game items on their own. They set up a monthly lottery. Every time a resident used an activity material without being asked, they got a ticket. One ticket won £20 at the end of the month.

The team tracked how often each person took materials before, during, and after the lottery. They used a simple single-case design.

Ticket entries shot up when the lottery started. Material use rose with them. After the staff stopped the lottery, most residents kept using the items. The brief cash prize acted like a jump-start; the activity itself then kept the behavior alive.

Davis et al. (1974) ran a similar jump-start in a city rec center. They gave extra gym time for bringing in new members and took minutes away for rule breaks. Both studies show leisure access can serve as a strong reinforcer without food or tokens.

Mace et al. (1990) tested how fast reinforcers were given, not how big they were. They found that quicker pay kept adults on a workshop task even when loud distractions popped up. Mueller et al. (2000) add the cash-lottery twist, showing that a single large prize can also lock in new habits.

Lea et al. (1977) warns us to watch the staff. In a prison token system, removing close oversight made guards hand out fines too often. M et al. avoided this trap by letting the lottery run itself; tickets came from objective counts, not staff judgment.

If you run day programs or group homes for older adults, a cheap monthly raffle can spark engagement. Pick a behavior you can count easily—puzzle starts, book check-outs, or short walks. Hand out one ticket per instance, draw one winner, and fade the lottery once the habit sticks. You may get lasting gains for the cost of a take-out meal.